Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance’s non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace said Tuesday it’s planning to add support for Ordinals, or Bitcoin NFTs later in May, though an exact date was not announced.
Binance NFT, which already supports NFTs on Ethereum, Polygon and its native BNB Chain, plans to expand its offerings by allowing traders to purchase Ordinals on the Bitcoin network. Collectors can soon buy and sell inscriptions, or NFTs created on the Bitcoin network, expanding the reach of the nascent Ordinals ecosystem.
Additionally, in order to help onboard users to Bitcoin NFTs, Binance will allow traders to purchase Bitcoin-based NFTs with their Binance accounts, simplifying the process for users. Instead of having to set up a taproot-compatible Bitcoin wallet to purchase Ordinals, as collectors wanting to mint NFT giant Yuga Labs’ TwelveFold Ordinals needed to do, Binance aims to make the process simple and secure for new buyers to enter the growing market.
Binance Head of Product Mayur Kamat said in a press release that he sees Bitcoin as “the broadest choice” for NFT collectors as well as a growing market for the exchange to tap into.
“Bitcoin is the OG of crypto,” said Kamat. “We believe things are just getting started here and can’t wait to see what the future holds in this space.”
However, Binance’s relationship with Bitcoin hasn’t all been positive in recent days. On Sunday, the exchange paused Bitcoin withdrawals twice, citing network congestion as the catalyst.
As Ordinals reached 3 million inscriptions last week, the demand for marketplaces to embrace Bitcoin NFTs is only intensifying. In March, NFT marketplace Magic Eden added support for Ordinals, integrating Bitcoin wallets Hiro and Xverse to do so. In April, the marketplace rolled out a creator launchpad to help artists mint their inscriptions before listing on the secondary marketplace.
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